A Hunter, a Hero, a Legend
by HotAyer
Summary: Torrent, a hunter who rescued a young woman from hell, would soon see his life as a guardian the way he'd never seen it before. After the permanent death of Crota, Oryx is coming. There is little time. The world needs a hero.
1. Chapter 1: Memories and Rescues

**This is my first fanfic, so tell me how it is!**

I own none of these characters. They belong to their respective companies and OC's. Any references also belong to their OC's.

Chapter 1: Memories and Rescues

"Ghost," I said. "Do you remember that day you found me in the Cosmodrome?" "I remember most things, Torrent, but I always think about that exact point in time. I'll never forget about it." We're sitting in my room in the Guardian's tower, talking about old memories, and the times we had together as a duo. My name is Torrent. I'm an Exo Hunter with a white shell and black markings down my right eye. I speak up. "Yeah. I also remem-" "Torrent, you've been assigned on a rescue mission. Please report to the Vanguard for debriefing at this time. Repeat. Torrent. You've been assigned to a rescue mission. Please report to the Vanguard at this time. Thank you." The intercom made me jump. "Oh, well. A rescue mission? It shouldn't be that bad. Come on, Ghost. Let's go!" "Right behind you!" exclaimed Ghost.

In the Vanguard Hall

"Ah, Torrent! Good to see you again!" Says Cayde. I speak up. "Nice seeing you too, sir. What's this about a rescue mission?" "Glad you asked. We have a potential guardian down at the Cosmodrome that's already awake, but her ghost was destroyed. Boom. Gone. Kaput. We need you to go in there, find her, and extract her. If she's up to her knees in shit, you need to do everything in your power to help her. Understand?" "Yes sir. When is departure?" "Now."

In my ship going to the Cosmodrome

"Ghost, you realize that this 'guardian' is in the same place you found me?" I ask ghost. "Wow! It seems that it is!" Ghost was delighted. Him and I were going to bring back old memories. As soon as we landed, we took a look around, and were mortified. I'd never seen anything like this. Blood was everywhere. The ground, the rocks, and even all over the walls of the Cosmodrome. "By the light of the Traveler... What happened? Ghost. See how old these bloodstains are." "Sure thing, Torrent." I release him from my H.U.D., and he inspected the bloodstains. "These aren't even bloodstains. This is fresh blood." I replied, "Damn. Wait. What was that?" I hear a faint cry from what sounds like a woman being tortured. "Ghost. Lead me to that cry." We walked for not 30 seconds before we saw a wall with a note pinned on it. It read, HELP ME PLEASE GOD HELP ME. "Ghost! This is it!" We darted into the following room, only to see a sight that would haunt me for a long time.

I saw a woman being torn apart by Thralls. Shredded. At the moment, I wasn't fazed. I quickly pulled out my hand cannon, and killed them. In the aftermath, I saw her. Horrified. I quickly went over to her, only to hear her scream to me. "PLEASE! You have to help! You must deliver me from this evil!" She grabbed my collar in desperation and terror. She was shaking so badly I almost couldn't keep eye contact. "Don't worry. I'm getting you out of this hellhole. Cayde! We found her! She's in critical condition, so we need a medical team in the Tower awaiting our arrival." "Copy that, Torrent. Well done." "Come on. Let's get you out."

In the ship on the way home

The woman is a beautiful young lady that looked to be the perfect age for a guardian. I couldn't help but look back at her every minute to check if she was still asleep. She was. Good. That means she's not hurting anymore.

At the tower

Cayde and the medical team are already there, waiting for us. Once we land, the medical team immediately takes her away to the infirmary. Cayde walks up to me. "Well done, Torrent. You've brought us what could be another thousand lives saved. For that, I'm grateful. Here. Have this." He hands me a rust-colored coin that shows the Vanguard icon on it. "Use it to get yourself something useful from the Gunsmith. A guardian like you could really use what he'll give ya." "Thank you sir. It's a pleasure," I politely thank. I walk over to the tower gunsmith, Banshee-44. By this time, it's already midnight, and only the Exos are out at midnight. "Long night, huh? Banshee says scruffily. "Yeah. Cayde gave me this. Any use?" Banshee gawked at the coin, and only managed one word. "Wow." He reached under his workbench, and pulled out a hand cannon that had a gold and black color scheme. It also read TEX MECHANICA. "Here. It's yours to keep." I couldn't believe my eyes.


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning

**I don't know how often I'll be uploading, but if this does well, I'll keep going!**

Chapter 2: The Beginning

"...uardian? Guardian? Eyes up here, guardian." I lay on a pile of rocks, not knowing what's happening. "It actually worked! You're alive! Okay. Come with me. I'll explain what's going on later. We need to leave, and get to the city!" A little white box was floating in mid-air, apparently talking to me. Me? I've been dead for over 600 years. Why me? "Who are- Wait wha-? What's going on?" I stammered. The white box replies, "This is hard to explain, but you've been dead for over 600 years. Your body was so damaged, I couldn't bring you back as a normal being. Look at yourself for a second. Don't. Panic." I looked down at my arms to see a white shell. I figured out that I'd been changed into an Exo, at least that's what Ghost told me. My voice had also been affected, sounding more like a machine than anything. Hmm. A machine? "What the hell? Oh well. Gonna have to get used to this." The white box spoke up. "Look I'd love to stay and chat, but we have to go right about now. Guardians have been looking for you for days now!" "Guardians? Hang on. I'll ask later. Where do... what do I call you?" "Just call me 'Ghost.'" "Alright, 'Ghost', where do we go?" "Hold still." Ghost flashes before me, disappearing. "Ghost?! Wher-?" "Don't worry. I'm in your H.U.D. Come on. I'll lead you right to the safest evac point. Might be a rough ride."

We walked for hours through a cosmodrome in Russia. My squad from 600 years in the past had been trying to run a mission here, but were killed in an explosion. I was the lead sniper for the squad, and was very good at my job. "Where do we need to go?" I asked Ghost. "Not far. We just need to get into that wall." "Alright." Once in the wall, we heard screeching from what sounded like tortured souls. "Oh no," said Ghost. "Hive." "Hive? What is that?" "The Hive are an ancient evil mostly among the moon. They've recently invaded Earth, and no one knows why." Ghost whispered. I look around, and manage to find a hand cannon laying on the ground. "Perfect. A revolver." I say with excitement. "What's a revolver?" Asks Ghost. "You've never heard of a revolver?" "That's a hand cannon." "Oh yeah I forgot. 600 years in the future, and everything changes." At that moment, we were ambushed. Thank the Traveler for quick reflexes. I pull out a military knife, and manage to cut through every single enemy until they lay dead. "Ah, a Hunter!" Squeals Ghost. "I've always wanted to be a Hunter's Ghost!" "Hunter?" I ask, confused. "I'll explain everything later. Come on. Not far left to go. I found an old jumpship in a hangar that should get us out." "Good."

We find the jumpship, only to find more hive on that. I pull out my hand cannon, fire six rounds, reload, and wait. Six Thralls fell off the jumpship, and I don't even remember aiming at them. I kind of just... pulled the trigger in random areas. "Good shot!" Says Ghost. "Thanks," I reply. Ghost flies up to the jumpship, analyzes it, then I see it jump to life. Seconds later Ghost yells, "Behind you!" I look back, and see a massive.. thing climbing out of a wall. Ghost says,"Bringing you in! Hold on to something!" I'm warped into a closed space, appearing to be a ship. "Alright. We finally made it out! I never did get your name..." "My name is Josh, but my squad called me Torrent." "Ok, Torrent it is!" We then flew for hours before landing at a massive tower in what Ghost told me was 'The Last City'. He told me all the things 'Guardians did for the city, and led me to someone named 'The Speaker.' We was the one in charge of everything here, right above the Vanguard. The Vanguard were the leaders of each class. These classes were Warlocks, who were the most intelligent and possessed seemingly magical abilities. Titans defended the city and helped to build the wall. Hunters, me, were the assassins. The scouts. These three types of Guardians had their own types. Titans had Striker, Defender, and Sunbreaker. Warlocks had Voidwalker, Sunsinger, and Stormcaller. Hunters had Gunslingers, Bladedancers, and Nightstalkers. It was only the beginning for me, and I had no idea what I was in for...


	3. Chapter 3: The Hunter Trials

**Welcome back to A Hunter, a Hero, a Legend! Last chapter, we had a flashback about how Torrent's story began. The origins. This chapter, well, see for yourself.**

Chapter 3: The Hunter Trials, and a new feeling

Ghost and I were running our usual schedule for the day. Run to Xander to pick up our daily bounties, talk to Lakshmi about joining the Future War Cult, ask Amanda Holliday about the little scratch on my ship from one of her clumsy robot assistants, and was about to head to Freehold on Mars to look into something the Vanguard thought was suspicious, when I heard an announcement over the intercom I'd never heard before. "All 1st year Hunters. Please report to the training facility. It's time for Hunter Trials. Again, all 1st year Hunters head to the training facility for Hunter trials. See you there." Cayde's voice spoke over the intercom. I've been preparing for months on end for this. The Hunter trials would tell a 1st year Guardian what type of Hunter they were. This actually happens for all types of Guardians. Hunters would be adopted into special legions of the same type of Hunter, which would train, fight, live, and get familiar with each other. There were 3 types of Hunters. Bladedancers. Light on their feet and skilled with a blade, they could send a supercharged electrical current through their blades, and vaporize their enemies without breaking a sweat. Gunslingers. The most skilled with weapons, usually a hand cannon, and could manipulate the power of Sol into their hands, and forge a flaming hand cannon which would ignite and disintegrate their target with one pull of the trigger. These were the only two classes any hunter has ever managed to be. But there was one other. Nightstalker. No one has ever been a Nightstalker in Hunter history. They wielded the power of the void, and could craft a powerful bow out of void light, killing foes with a hit, and ensnaring them if they missed by a couple feet for an easy kill. I've always wondered how they've discovered the existence of a Nightstalker, but I won't question it. It was time for the trials to begin.

In the training facility

"Hunters," Cayde started. "These trials were designed to see how you'll perform in the field from here on out. Here, you'll discover what power of the light you'll wield, what kind of pain you'll bring to the darkness. Of course, you'll all have your specialized abilities, but in specific categories. I know you've been studying them for a while now." I reassure myself, knowing I've read about the Hunters since they were officially inaugurated into the Guardians. "You'll be pushed relentlessly through these training exercises for a long period of time. You'll be tested on your knowledge of the Hunter origins. You'll learn how hard it really is to contain your true potential power. That starts right now. Test your endurance, and run around the track until failure. Once you slow down below 10 miles an hour, your time will stop. GO!" We drop our weapons, and we start running. Some Hunters, the younger ones, topped out at around 1 hour. The middle strength and more burly Hunters lasted another 2 and a half hours. As another 2 hours pass, I'm still running, then realize, I'm the only one on the track, and have been for the last hour. As soon as a look down at my legs, I see a part coming loose. Naturally, I stop to fix it. Cayde yells, "TIME!" I look at the clock on the wall, and think to myself, " _Holy shit._ " As it turns out, I lasted 5 and a half hours, smashing any other record known to the Hunters. Cayde looks impressed. "Tell you what, Torrent. You showed these guys up out here. You ran so long, you were breaking yourself! Next time, just stop a half hour after the other Hunters stop, 'kay?" He said sarcastically. I reply. "Yeah. Got it."

The next stage, at the firing range.

"Alright Hunters," Cayde spoke up, "your next challenge is to draw your weapon as fast as possible and fire once at your paper target downrange." The range was about 100-150 feet down. This would be a little awkward for me, because I'd never gotten around to testing out my hand cannon Banshee gave me last week. "You will be ranked on your draw speed and accuracy on the target. Alright? On your mark, Hunters." Cayde announces. "Ready...? Draw!" I whip out my gun, and it spins around my finger. Unfazed, I fire, my free hand comes up, and it slams the hammer of the gun back down like it was a natural reflex. I didn't react on the outside, because Cayde has always taught me to never react to anything peculiar. Cayde gives me a strange look, then looks down at the target wide-eyed. Bullseye. Couldn't shoot a gun better than that. Cayde comes up to me, and whispers, "Meet me in the Vanguard Hall in 3 minutes." _To the other Hunters_ "Alright Hunters. Take a 10 minute break. Reflex testing is next." 3 minutes later, I'm in the Vanguard Hall waiting for Cayde. He arrives, and rather crankily says, "Torrent. How'd you learn to shoot a hand cannon like that? You're showing off!" I feel scolded, even though I don't know how I did it. "Sir, I don't know. It was a natural reflex." I respond. Cayde thinks for a second, and says, "Alright Torrent. If you're going to excel at this, I expect you to have a Nightstalker result. Understand?" "Yes sir." "Good. Now get down to the facility. We're starting in 5." "Got it."

On the way back to the facility

As I'm walking back to the facility, I see a Warlock showing off a purple orb in his hand, which appeared to be a dormant Nova Bomb. I then feel a sudden surge of strength and awareness. "Hmm, odd." I whisper to myself.

In the facility

"Ok Hunters." Cayde says. "This is the third out of four tests you're taking. This will test your reflexes. Fruit will be transmatted in front of you, and you'll need to be able to cut them in half. No exceptions. Understood?" "Yes sir!" The Hunters reply in unison. "Good," Cayde states. "We go one by one, and you'll be given a standard issue Hunter's dagger before you start. Get in a line along this wall, and we'll start." As we get into a line, Cayde threw the first one the dagger, and the rookie caught it without flinching. Cayde motioned for him to step into a circle. As a buzzer sounded, fruit started transmatting in, and the rookie went to work. He missed maybe 10 or 20. That's pretty good, considering there's about 300-350 fruits per exercise. The buzzer sounded, and the rookie relaxed. "Pretty good," Cayde spoke up. "Next!" This process went on for a while. I tried to track a pattern in the fruit, but soon figured out that it was impossible to find one. Soon enough it was my turn. Right before I got started, Cayde whispered to me, "I expect you to hit every single one before they hit the ground." The buzzer sounded, and so did I. It was a blur. Fruit. Everywhere. As the fruit stopped 3 minutes later, I realized there was one more orange. I quickly threw my arm back, stabbing the orange through the center, leaving it stuck on the knife. Cayde nodded in approval, and said, "Alright Hunters. The last test might sting. The elemental test. Warlocks!" He calls. Three warlocks walk in, all with their respective types. There was a Stormcaller, which would find out which Hunters would turn out to be Bladedancers, a Sunsinger, to find the Gunslingers out of the bunch. There was also a Voidwalker, which Cayde mentioned to be 'there for a potential prodigy Hunter'. They each summoned an orb of their own respective power. Cayde starts, "Alright Hunters. Final test. You're going to put your hand into each of these three orbs, and see if you can pull a particular weapon out of it. You might find a gun, a dagger, or maybe even a _bow_." He looks me dead in the eyes as he says it.

Other hunters reached into the void bubble, only for their hands to sting in pain, then reach into the Sol bubble, and pull out a hand cannon, the sign of a Gunslinger. I tried the Arc and Sol bubbles, but with no result. I finally convince myself to reach into the void bubble, and felt astonished. I held what felt like glass chiseled into a statue. As I pull it out, it takes the shape of a massive purple bow. Cayde and the other Hunters are bewildered, and the rookies start whispering to each other about the long forgotten power of a Nightstalker. I just looked at it in shock and awe as the others look on.

I was a Nightstalker. There was no denying it. Cayde speaks up, "Nightstalker? We don't have a specialist for that. Do you think you can teach yourself?" I look back at him. "Sure. But what does this mean?" "It means you're a legend among Hunters, Torrent."


	4. Chapter 4: Fame, Recovery, Love and Re

**That last chapter was a big one. We learned that Torrent is the only Nightstalker Hunter ever in the history of Guardians, and nobody knows how it turned out to be him, since he's been dead for 600 years, and only a year into his job.**

Chapter 4: Fame, Recovery, Love, and Revenge

A few days after the trials, everybody heard about me being the only Nightstalker in history. I walked with a new pep in my step, knowing that my name is world renowned. Some of the Hunters congratulate me, give me high hives, and give me gifts. The others are jealous, and I can see it in their face. The only problem with being a Nightstalker was that no one knew how to train me. I had to teach myself to use the bow, love the bow, live by the bow, and know the bow. Not only did I have to know it, but it had to know me. "God. This is interesting. Someday, I'm going to teach other Nightstalkers the ways of the void." I said to Ghost, who was floating next to me as I lay in bed that night. "But, what if there are no more Nightstalkers?" Asked Ghost. "Hmm. Maybe you're right. What if this is how it is? Is this a blessing or a curse? I'm given the abilities of a true Hunter, but I'm isolated from everyone else." "I know it's rough, but remember. You're a legend. Don't you want to prove that?" I could tell Ghost was trying to comfort me. "That is true... But Cayde wasn't a big fan of my stunt in front of the other rookies. Made them look bad." "Yeah. Look, we can talk tomorrow. I'm feeling kinda low on energy. We should sleep." "Sure. Tomorrow." I said while my optical sensors started to glow orange, signaling that I needed to 'sleep'. "Well, 'night Ghost." "Goodnight, Torrent."

The next morning

I wake up, refreshed. As I sit up in bed, I notice that my bed sheet got caught in my shoulder joint. "Agh. Stupid shoulder." I grunt as I rotate my shoulder back to open the joint to release the sheet. "Mornin' Ghost." *silence* "Ghost?" I get out of bed, put on my armor, standard attire for the Tower, and walked out of the Guardian's rooms. "Ghost?" I repeated increasingly louder. "Ghost?! Where the hell?" I'm frustrated as I cant find him. I check my H.U.D. nothing. "Hang on.. That girl I saved didn't have a Ghost... The infirmary!" I run to the infirmary, to see if Ghost was there, and sure enough, there he was with her on the couch in the waiting room. Her? She looked fine. She didn't look like she had a scratch anywhere. Weird.

"Ghost..?" "Ah, Torrent! There you are!" Said Ghost. "..what are you doing here? I thought you were in the room." I say, still half-asleep. "Okay. Funny story. This is the woman you saved from the Thralls, and she had no Ghost. During surgery, she went dark. She would have died with no Ghost. The infirmary called me in the middle of the night because you're the closest relation to her, and they needed to have a Ghost with a close connection."

The woman stood up. She eyed me up and down. The next second, she had her arms wrapped around me. She started crying. I comforted her, and reassured her that she was safe. After a little bit, she stopped crying. She stood back, and said, "Thank you. Thank you so much." I replied, "It's no problem. What's your name?" "My name's Alex." "My name's Torrent, and I'm a Hunter." "Good to meet you, Torrent. Wait. I don't mean to offend you, but are you what they call an 'Exo'?" "Yes, as a matter of fact. Don't feel bad about asking. I get that a lot." "Oh, okay." "Are you holding up?" "I'm doing pretty well. My stomach is still stinging, though." "I would think so. You didn't look so hot when I found you in the cosmodrome." Cayde comes up between the two of us, and tells me, "Morning, Torrent. Congrats on your results yesterday. I was... impressed, to say the least." "Thank you sir." "You've met Alex, our new Hunter?" "Really?" I say with a delighted tone of voice. "Yep," she says, "And I heard you're the only Nightstalker Hunter among us, right?" "That is correct. How'd you hear about it?" "Cayde told me." "Yep," Cayde interrupts. "Also, I've put the two of you in a fireteam to familiarize yourselves with each other. Thought it could work out well." "Alright," I say. "When is she ready to take her first partol?" "She's ready now. She's cleared by the doc." I look to Alex. "Want to go get some revenge?" I ask her. She smiled. "Yeah. Give them what they deserve." "Now that's what I'm talking about." Says Cayde. "Torrent, you're clear to take Alex on patrol. You're liable for anything that happens to her on her first patrol only." "Yes sir." I reply. "Come on, Alex. I'll show you around the cosmodrome."

In the ship on the way to the cosmodrome

"Torrent?" says Alex. "What's up?" I answer as I'm flying the ship to the landing zone "You do know that we have to share Ghost now, right?" "Oh, well I guess that makes sense. Yours was destroyed, soooo..." Ghost interrupts by saying, "Wow. This is gonna be a handful." I give him a little backtalk. "Ah, you'll get used to it. How 'bout you try being the one that's been dead for 600 years, then become famous in a year, huh?" Ghost was quiet, while I hear Alex laughing behind me. "Alright Alex. Helmets on. We're landing." As she puts hers on, she complains, "Ngh. It's kinda small." "That's how Hunter helmets were made, sorry." "It's fine." As we land, we transmat out of the ship, and she gets dizzy. "Should have warned you about that. My bad." "Relax, that was fun!" "Alright," and I chuckle a little. "Oh, there's plenty of oxygen here. Helmets off if you want." I say as I take mine off. She takes hers off too. "Okay. Do you want to start off by taking some pot shots or do you want to-" I don't finish my sentence because she grabs my collar, leans in, and kisses me on the lips, even though she knows I'm an Exo. This lasted at least a minute. Once she let go, we were both silent for a second. "I uhhhh.." I stutter "I just.. wanted to say thank you. While I was in the hospital, I swore I'd dedicate my life to whoever saved me from that hell. They were eating me alive."

I'm struck silent. "You alright, Torrent?" She asks. I nodded. "Alright.. no need to be nervous. I don't bite." I laugh a little, still trying to comprehend what the hell just happened. She giggles as she puts her helmet back on. I put mine on as well. "Alright, back to business," says Alex. "I see something down there. Should we look into it?" "See what?" "The Hive." "I don't see... oh, there it is. Nice spotting eye!" My cheeks were still warm from 'blushing'. "Thanks." She replies. "Hold on. I got it." I pull out my sniper rifle, and scope them out. "They're doing some kind of.. ritual." I say. "Cayde. I'm seeing a Hive ritual. Actions?" I radio to Cayde. "Crash the party." Answers Cayde. "Alright Alex, let's move up- Alex?"

I look up and see her walking toward the Hive with a clenched fist, seemingly wanting revenge. "Alex! She doesn't turn to me. Instead she takes her knife, and starts to stab a Thrall, getting their attention. "Jesus, Alex!" I aim my sniper, and pick off all but one; the one she's stabbing. "Alex...?!" I gasp under my breath as I see her pick up the Thrall, and slam it into the ground. I hear a crack that could only be the Thrall's spine. As it screams in pain, she pins it to the ground, puts away her knife, and starts pounding the hell out of it. As I watch, I'm stunned. There's no way she could do that. I mean, That was unreal. I run over to her, and she's breathing really heavily through her teeth. "Jesus, Alex. I think you got the point across." "Good," she replied. "Had to give them a hell of my own." "Cayde would be pissed if he saw you do that." "Oh my god, really?" she asked, kind of scared now. "It's fine. He's cool like that. You just can't do that again. That's why we have knives and soundproof masks. We're stealthy killers." "Alright. Sorry, that was a one-time thing." "Good, or else Zavala would get ahold of you. He's... less cool about Guardians breaking conduct. Come on, let's teach you the ways of a Hunter." "Alright. Let's start," she answered. Turns out, she's a natural.


	5. Chapter 5: The Taken

**Sorry I've been dormant, everybody!** **In the last chapter, Torrent and Alex meet for the first time in the tower, they share a Ghost, and also a short intimate moment between them that brings them closer together than most other Guardians. In this chapter, they discover a danger that could mean danger for the entire world, and to the Guardians.**

Chapter 5: The Taken

"You what now?" Asked Cayde. "Yes, I beat down a thrall. Please forgive me. It was out of revenge. It was a one-time mistake!" Alex pleaded. "Hmmm... Did it attract attention?" "No." "Good. You're free to go, please make sure that discipline is above rage." "Yes sir." Alex and I now share my room in the Guardian's tower, and we were heading back for the night. As soon as we got there, I told her, "Thank you for staying truthful. It's one of the best things a Guardian can do for the Vanguard." As I take off my armor. "I just couldn't keep it a secret. I had to tell someone. I'm not the kind of person that lies." She replied As I lay down on my bed, she joins me. "Man. It's harder than it looks out there," says Alex. "Yeah. Not easy, especially for the first day on the job," I agree. She takes a look around my room, and sees a butterfly knife from my previous life, restored by Ghost. "Hey, is that.. a butterfly knife?" She asks. I look at it. "Yep." "Can I see it for a second?" "Sure. Just be careful." She gets up, picks it up, swings it around for a little bit, and closes it. Then, something happened. She started to whip the blade back and forth, up and down her hand, all the while keeping a straight face. She grasped it tightly after looking like an expert with it, this time with the blade exposed. I said one word. "Bladedancer." She couldn't help but smile. "I knew it, too." She said, smiling. "Just do that in front of Cayde, and see his reaction.." We both laughed. "Well, we should probably get to bed." said Alex. "Agreed. I'm running out of charge." "That explains the orange eyes?" She says, taking off her armor for the night. "I guess." "Alright, we should get some sleep." "Yeah. Goodnight, Alex." She comes over to me and gives me another kiss, this time on the cheek. "Goodnight, Torrent." I'm 'blushing' again this time. She goes to her own bed with the butterfly knife. "Hey, Torrent?" "What's up?" "Do you mind if I keep this?" "Sure! I never really used it anyway. It's there for show, but it's yours now." "Thanks! Goodnight!" She stayed up pretty much all night playing with it. Surprised me that it didn't stab her in the stomach when she fell asleep with it in hand.

Early the next morning

"Alex! Torrent! Wake up! WAKE UP! There's a new threat, and it's directed straight at the city! We don't know what it is, but it's scary as hell!" Ghost frantically shouted at us early this morning. We woke with a start, trying to get our gear on as fast as we could. She ate a small breakfast, and we ran out, still trying to get our gear on and her still trying to eat. Keep in mind, the time is 4 a.m. FOUR. IN. THE. MORNING. The intercom blared, "All Guardians report to the foyer immediately! All Guardians report to the foyer immediately!" We go to the foyer, to see the Speaker. He's trying to calm down the unrest. "Everyone! Please! Calm down! The situation is under control!" Once everyone calms down, he starts. "Fellow citizens, Guardians, we have seen a new threat among us. The Taken. Oryx, The Taken King, Father of Crota, has brought darkness and corruption to this realm. He comes to seek revenge for the death of his son, the Hive Prince, Crota. We must eliminate this threat at once! Our Guardians will be able to defeat the Taken, and The Taken King!" I listen and it terrifies me to think that Crota had a Father. Something bigger than him. Something darker than him. Something more evil than him. "We need to get moving then. There's no waiting around here!" Said Alex. "You're right", I replied. "We need to see this ourselves." "Fireteam 127! Repeat! Fireteam 127! Report to the Vanguard Hall for mission debriefing!" "That's us!" I yelled to Alex through the pandemonium. "Come on!"

In the Vanuguard Hall

As we walked into the Vanguard Hall, Cayde immediately started. "The Cabal have sent out a massive distress signal, and we've intercepted it. It's on Phobos, one of Mars's moons, and we need to you inspect it. Alex. Can you handle the heat?" "Pretty sure I can." "Good. The more we have out there, the more intel we'll have. This is a mission unlike any other that you've received. This is a brand new threat, so adjust accordingly. Coordinates are already synced to your ship, Torrent." "Thank you sir." "Not a problem. Just be sure to keep in touch."

In the ship on the way to Phobos

Alex spoke up. "Well, this turned south fast." "Unfortunately, yes it did. Did you grab everything?" "Yep. Too bad my gun sucks ass." "I'll transmat a good one in for you on Phobos. I have my own new one as a reward for rescuing you from the Gunsmith." "Neat."

On Phobos

"Alright. We're here. Let's get moving." I say. As I pull out my hand cannon, a new one is transmatted in. A nice, silver hand cannon with wing markings on it. As I give it to Alex, she says, "This is a nice hand cannon. I'll name it Hawkmoon." "Alright. What reminds you of that?" I ask. "Well, the color resembles the moon, and it has hawk wing markings." We start running along the side of a cliff, and then a cabal ship flies right on front of us, with us in its searchlight. Alex aims at it, but shortly, it leaves. "Weird," I say. "It isn't here for us. They're evacuating. We should just keep going." "Yeah." We see a massive firebase up ahead, and several dead Cabal. "Geez. What the hell happened here?" Ghost replies, "Probably the Taken driving them out." As we move into the base, we see something really strange. The Cabal were being sucked into what looked like a black orb. It was so sudden. I saw them trying to run away, and couldn't help but feel bad for them.

As we moved further into the base, we were ambushed. We took the heat like nothing, and returned more than they could take. We pushed through, then walked down a hallway. We saw this really strange space-goo looking thing. "Cayde. I'm seeing a really strange phenomenon. Looks like a picture of space in 3D." "I can't see it. The video file on your helmet is corrupted." Cayde responds. Alex yells, "Torrent! Up ahead!" I snap my head forward, only to see him. Oryx, The Taken King. Not in person, but as a hologram. It bellows, "Light! Give your will to me!" "Never." I mutter. He laughs, then a black orb appears. It grows, and grows, and grows, until a large being teleports in. "Alex! No mercy!" I yell. "Got it!" We battle the beast. Back and forth, and back and forth. As we finally defeat it, Oryx bellows, "That is enough!" The black orb appears above my head, and I see things. Terrible things. The material of nightmares. Alex screams, "TORRENT!"

As I'm about to be taken, Alex and I are flashed to the aerodrome outside of the base. Alex yells, "Come on! What are you waiting for?!" Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. I feel paralyzed. I can't move. Then, I feel it. Not physically, but mentally. Us Exos are built to function exactly like humans, so we think like them too. I felt... taken. I didn't look it, but I couldn't shake the feeling. Alex picks me up, throws me over her shoulder, and starts running. I start to black out, and as I fall into blackness, I hear the whisper of Oryx in my head. "You will bow to me. And no one else. Me. Me alone." Alex punches me to wake me up, and I do so screaming.

"Torrent! What the hell happened?!" She interrogates. I'm shaking like a leaf. "I-I-I don't know! It was h-him!" I stammered. Alex stares, and mutters, "Fuck." She then radios Cayde. "Cayde! This is Alex on Fireteam 127! Torrent was almost taken, as is having visions and nightmares! We need an alternative course of action A.S.A.P.! Do you copy?!" "We hear you loud and clear Alex. Find a position to hole up in. Try to keep them off your backs. We'll have another fireteam pick you guys up, because you two are stranded there until then! Just hang in there! E.T.A. 5 minutes!" "Copy that!"

I'm in a daze. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. I can't seem to think about anything besides killing. Mindless killing. Was this what it was like to be taken? As I fade away again, Alex slaps me. "Torrent! Stay with me! We're almost out of here!" As I involuntarily pull out my gun, Alex bats it out of my hand. "No way! Not the way you're holding up." She says. Mindlessly, I jump up at her, tackle her to the ground, and start to pin her down. "Torrent! What the hell are you doing?!" I can't hear her. The whispers are getting even louder. I seem to be obeying Oryx's every command. She pushes me off, then tries to hit me to wake me up. I counter and hit her with a punch that emitted some type of taken energy. She's staggered, then looked at it in terror. She has no choice but to take her Hawkmoon, and shoot me in my leg. The pain was searing. Sure, I'd been shot before, but being taken and being shot... Nothing like it. I snap awake as soon as she shoots. I'm unaware of the entire fiasco. "T-Torrent? Do you know what just happened?" She questions as she's aiming her gun at me. "Agh, fuck! You just shot me in the leg! That's what just happened!" "You mean, you don't know?" "Don't know what?" "You attacked me! Hit me with a right cross that emitted some sort of, energy..." "Oh god. No... please no... This isn't happening!" The fireteam arrives, and rushes to our aid. Alex says, "Thank god. They're here!" Out of the blue, I yell, "I need to be stopped!" Everyone stares at me in confusion, but Alex knows what I'm talking about. Alex explains to them what happened, and they follow suit.

They hauled me away in wristcuffs made of arc light, and tie me into the inside of the ship so I'd have nowhere to go. No one to harm. Although the ride was a long one, I heard no whispers the whole ride. It was silent.

At the Tower

Cayde is confused. "Hang on. Explain that one more time?" I'm held by two of the three guardians that rescued us. "I was taken. Not physically, but inside, I can feel it. I nonconsciously attacked Alex, and she had no choice but to shoot me. Believe me. I agree with her." Zavala and Ikora look over, wondering if what they heard was correct. Cayde thinks for a second, then says. "You're not fit for duty. You're required to wait one month before taking duty into your hands again. Plus, we need to get that bullet out of your leg." "...Yes sir.." "Alex, thank you for your bold actions. You made the right choice." Every night for a month, I would need to stay in the infirmary, for mental reasons, away from Alex. I hated every single night of it. I wasn't allowed anywhere near Alex the whole time. I would have the same nightmares every single night. I would see me and Alex being taken in my nightmares, and those were the ones that wouldn't let me rest. Ever. They eventually would need to make sure I stayed asleep, in a much more, forceful manner.


	6. Chapter 6: Recovery

**In the last chapter, Torrent almost succumbs to Oryx, the Taken King. Now; he's left scarred, horrified, and broken. Now, he works around the Tower, and making a very fast recovery.**

Chapter 6: Recovery

2 weeks after the Phobos incident

I lay up in bed, with that bullet still in my leg, and the very faint whispers in my head. Whenever I was calm and collected, they would silence themselves. I was in a special wing of the infirmary, dedicated to the Exos, named the Restoration Facility for the Physically Advanced. I was on the verge of borderline insane, but I still managed to keep some sanity through a psychiatrist. I knew a part of me belonged to Oryx. I couldn't shake it. I knew I wasn't even halfway out of my recovery.

4 weeks after Phobos

Cayde comes into my room. "Hey Torrent! Doin' alright?" "You tell me." Cayde takes a quick look at me, and says, "Looks good. You're dismissed from the R.F.P.A. Your recovery was much faster than predicted." I'm delighted. "Great! But, what about, well, you know..." "Yeaaaahhh, that. We can't do anything about that. As long as he's alive, we can't get rid of that." "That's it! We kill him! We just walk onto whatever spacecraft he came in on, put a bullet through his head, and end it there!" "Well... doesn't work like that. Alex was placed on a temporary fireteam, and found some groundbreaking news. We have a beachhead. Guardians can move in and out of this 'ship', even though it's massive. Absolutely gigantic. We need to find him first." "So, am I clear for patrols yet?" "Not quite. We still need to ensure that you can regain your sanity before you lash out on everything. For now, you'll be working around the Tower. Mostly with Amanda Holliday. She's in a tight spot, and she needs all the help she can get." "Alright then. Anywhere else?" "Probably just walking around the Tower, making sure everything is in order. And one more thing. If the other Hunters make fun of you for absolutely anything, humiliate them. Any way you want to. Hell, you can paint their ship pink if you so please!" We both laugh a little, and I reply, "Thanks, Cayde. Appreciate it." "Not a problem, Guardian."

5 weeks after Phobos

"Haha! Look at the 'Nightstalker' trying to hit up the shipwright! OH MY SIDES!" The Hunters are absolutely unrelenting with the insults. I'm giving her the daily reports of ships that need repairs, and giving her the total tally of ships going in and out for the hour. I ignore them. "Hey Nightstalker!" I look over. "Hey, Nightstalker!" "Yeah?" I answer. "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to the real Nightstalker!" "Hey, Nightfocker!" By now they're rolling on their backs, laughing their stupid little faces off. "Haha, enjoy your little jokes. Meanwhile, I've enjoyed your ship! You're James Andrews, a Gunslinger, right?" "...Right..." He answers cautiously. "Good. Amanda! Bring up the ship that belongs to GS-103!" "Sure thing!" She answers with a little devious laugh. The platform lifts, and his ship is there. Bright pink. With flowers all over it. Amanda and I have our laughs, as James is shocked and appalled. "The fu- What did you do to my ship?!" I regain my bearings. "I've had enough of your shit, so I've returned the favor!" "YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" He throws a right cross. I block, counter with a left uppercut. I grab a wrench off the counter as he charges at me. He tries to throw a left jab, and I block it with the wrench. I hear a crack, and he clutches his hand in pain. "FUCK you!" "You're into that?!" Amanda falls off the counter laughing. He yells in anger and pain, and storms off, doubled over. I tell Amanda, "Make sure you tell Cayde that we have a Gunslinger out of commission for a little while." She's still laughing, but she answers, "Sure thing. _Laughing_ " The other Hunters look at me, and slowly back up. "Yeah. You wouldn't want the same happening to you, huh?" They shake their heads. "Good. Get out of my sight." They run away, tripping over eachother.

7 weeks after Phobos

Working with Master Rahool is actually surprisingly fun. We talk a little bit about the history of the Tower, and the engrams that Guardians bring in to him. "So, what exactly is an Engram?" "An Engram is data without matter." "How is that possible?" I'm very intrigued. "Rasputin holds codes to different sorts of weapons and armor, and it's my job to find out what these codes are. As I crack these codes, they become integrated into a piece of gear for the Guardians." "Very interesting!" He holds up an Engram, and it takes the shape of a dodecahedron. "Here. Hold it." It has the strangest touch. My fingers are tingling, and it's the weirdest thing ever, but still really cool. James walks up, dumps some purple and yellow Engrams on the table, and says, "What do I got, Rahool?" He looks up at me. "What the hell are you doing here?" "Helping." "Well no shit, Rahool Jr." Rahool whispers to me, "He been an annoyance?" "Yeah." "Don't worry. Watch this." He slips the purple and yellow Engrams up his sleeves, and pulls some blue ones out from under the table. He smirks at me. He decodes them, only to reveal terrible weapons for him. "Are you kidding?! I worked all day for that! FUCK!" "Sorry Guardian. That's the best I can do." He says, as he sneaks me a single yellow one. He storms off, giving me the finger with a large bandage on it. I yell, "How's that hand doing?!" "Fuck you!" "Thanks Rahool." "Anytime. If you need anything, just call. Here. Let me decode that for you." As he decodes it, it integrates into a sniper rifle has seems to have a monitor on it instead of a scope. Along the side of the barrel, it had one word engraved into it. 'HEREAFTER'


	7. Chapter 7: Back in the Saddle

**Welcome back to A Hunter, A Hero, A Legend! Sorry I've been inactive, I've been playing a little and did some Trials for the first time. In the last chapter, Torrent was working around the tower while making his recovery. Alex, however, didn't make an appearance.**

Chapter 7: Back in the Saddle

2 months after Phobos

Alex and I are taking our patrols around the cosmodrome, and we're picking off the fallen that infested the place. "Thank god. I was about to lose my mind staying in the infirmary every night." I said with an expression of relief. "No kidding," Alex said. "It must have sucked to stay there every night for a couple months." "Hold up. Wolves Ketch just touched down." We both stop, and take cover behind a rusted and beaten-up car. "What are they doing?" Asked Alex. "Dunno. Looks like a... Glimmer drill. Want to intercept?" "Sure. What's so special about these 'Wolves'?" "They're a really powerful Fallen House, and they have a traitor as their leader. Someday, we'll find him." "Yeah." We pull out our snipers, and line up our shots. "Alright," I whisper. "You get the ones on the left, I'll tap the ones on the right side. Ready?" "Ready." We both shoot, one, after another, after another. We managed to pick them off, but attracted some unwanted company. The Taken.

I see another black orb. "Alex, we need to go." "Why?" I point, and she gets the message clearly. As we start to run back to the ship, Oryx whispers to me, "You can't evade me! I have taken entire worlds! Earth is no less!" I thrash my head around to separate myself from the whispers, and Alex shakes me back to reality. "Come on. You're done for now." "But I-" "No. You're done. I'm making sure you're okay." "Fine." We both leave the cosmodrome safely, and get on the ship back to the Tower.

At the Tower

I'm walking to Amanda, the shipwright, to talk to her about a couple things. "Hey Amanda." "Howdy, Torrent. How'd the patrol go?" "It happened again. Stupid taken.." "That sucks. Say, is that Hand Cannon 'The Last Word'?" "Yep. Got it from the Gunsmith." "Ya know, the foundry that made that gun is holdin' a tourney. Winner gets a shotgun. Flagship model. I was the head designer!" "Nice. How does one enter the tourney?" "Ya just gotta show off in the Crucible." The Crucible has always been a gray area for me. Why would you pit Guardians against Guardians? It just doesn't make sense. "Alright. When is the next game?" "They start in 5 minutes. Ya got time t' go t' Shaxx t' register for a match." "Okay. I'll give it a shot."

Talking to Lord Shaxx

"So, you want to have glory? Earn it. Convince me!" Lord Shaxx seems to be stuck in his old ways, but I guess it pays off? Eh, I dunno. "Where do I apply for a game?" "What type of match would you like to compete in?" He shows me a list of match types. Control, Clash, Rumble, Rift, all these different things. "I'll try... Clash." "Okay. I'll see you there."

In the arena

The match starts in a minute, and everybody is talking to me about what to do, where to go, and how to use my 'Super'. I dunno how to even shoot the damn bow. "Alright, alright. So, I just shoot everyone on the other team?" "Yep. Not that hard, right?" "I guess not." The buzzer sounds, and we're transmatted into the arena. We start running, and my weapon selection is my Last Word and a shotgun I got from Shaxx. A Guardian runs up behind me with a shotgun, and I quickly turn around. I clearly wasn't fast enough, because the next thing I knew, I was where my team started. I'm confused. "Woah. What?" My teammate says, "Don't worry. You can't actually die here. You can just respawn." "Oh, I guess that's efficient." I got the hang of this. I was putting down the other team, and I quickly learned where the other team would be, and when. I was having a blast, quite literally. I kept running into a single Hunter, and was secretly hoping it was James. The buzzer sounded, and the game ended early. Lord Shaxx is on the intercom in the arena. "I've seen enough! I'm calling this!" My teammates high-fived me, and the two teams took off their helmets to shake hands. I then realized who that one Hunter was. "Alex?"

"Yeah. Nice shooting, Torrent!" "Oh damn. I thought you were James the whole time. That's why I kept getting you!" "Wow. You really do hate him, don't you?" "Yeah. He gave me a hard time during recovery." "Yeah, I know. Cayde had to actually file a restraining order on him from you." "Ah, so that's why I haven't seen him for a month." We're transmatted back to the Tower, and everyone goes to the bar for a post-match drink. "Torrent, wanna get a drin- oh wait." "That's fine. Yeah, I'll come with."

At the bar, beneath the Tower hangar

"That match was a ton of fun. We need to do it more often." Said Alex. "Agreed," I reply. "Couldn't hear the whispers there." "Really?" "Yep. Wanna go do some patrols on Venus? Only place that's not infested with Taken yet." "Sure." A Titan threw back her drink behind me, then fell over, drunk.

On Venus, in the Ishtar Sink

"Alright, Cayde. What's happening on Venus?" I radioed to Cayde. "Got some Vex, Fallen, and we actually have a rouge Warlock on there. Proceed with caution." "Should we kill or capture?" "If you can, kill. This Warlock has caused enough havoc." "Alright. We'll keep an eye out." At that very moment, Alex was shot in the right arm by a sniper.

"Alex!" She falls over, clutching her right shoulder. "AGH! FU-" She then was shot in the stomach. She falls down, unconscious. "Shit, Alex!" I duck down, before I got my head taken off. "Cayde! Alex is down! The Warlock hit her with a sniper!" "Alright. Try to get a shot off on the Warlock. Go for the kill." "Copy that." I pull out my Hereafter, and try to aim at the rogue Warlock. I see a pile of dust shoot up from a bullet. Now's my chance. I aim carefully, and get a shot off on his arm. I hear a yell. I reload, and aim again. The Warlock is now doubled over, and open to a snipe. I fire, putting a bullet through his head, ending him. He falls off the cliff he was on, and there's no way he could survive that fall.

I tend to Alex. "Alex.. Alex!" She's bleeding badly. "Shit. What do I do?" I check her pulse. She's cold and still. "No, no no no..." A Titan was doing her own patrols when she saw my dilemma, and came to help. "You need some help?" "Do you have anything that could bring her back? She got shot in the stomach by a rogue, and she has no pulse!" "I have some defibrillators. Maybe that'll work?" "Perfect!" She pulls them out, and charges them. "Clear!" She announces. Alex jumps, then slowly opens her eyes. "T-Torrent?" I hold her head up. "You're gonna be okay, Alex, just hang in there. Thank you, Titan. Your help is greatly appreciated." "Not a problem. Just call me Jelmas." "Okay, Jelmas. Do you know of any rogues around here?" "I heard there was a Warlock around here." "I just took him out. He was on that cliff over there." "Alright," Jelmas said. "Looks like we're good. I'll help you lock for evac for your friend here." "Thanks Jelmas."

At the Tower

Cayde is there, waiting for us again. "Congrats, Torrent." He says as a medical team takes Alex away. "You've brought down one of the most dangerous threats we have. A Guardian that works against us. It's my understanding you had some help?" "Yes, he did." Jelmas is right behind me, speaking to Cayde. "The Warlock had incapacitated his friend, and he couldn't help her. I figured I'd pitch in to help bring a Hunter back." "Thank you, Titan." Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard, is right behind Cayde, bitching about 'a wasted Guardian'. "My Warlock could have been the slayer of Oryx! You didn't need to kill him! You should have brought him in!" "Relax, Ikora. There wasn't much my Hunter could have done. He was in a tight squeeze." Ikora took a deep breath, and said to me,"Thank you Hunter, but the force you used was unne-" "Can it, Rey." Cayde interrupts. "You should be thankful that your 'Warlock' didn't cause more chaos than he already did before Torrent killed him." Ikora looked pissed, and walked back to the Vanguard Hall. "If you don't mind, Torrent," Cayde said to me. "I'm just gonna stick with you before going back. I have a bad feeling Ikora is gonna have another one of her little void-powered tantrums, and I don't wanna be in the middle of it." "How did she end up as a Vanguard anyway?" I ask. "Not sure. She was the smartest of the bunch, but a little arrogant."


	8. Chapter 8: Finding Oryx

**In the last chapter, Torrent got back into the flow of patrols. Unfortunately, Alex is back in the infirmary with a bullet in her stomach. Now, Torrent is all alone again, but this time, not completely alone...**

Chapter 8: Finding Oryx

1 week later

I'm in the waiting room, seeing if I can visit Alex. Jelmas is there with me, wanting to see her too. "Jelmas," I said. "Yes?" "Do you think she'll be okay?" "I know she'll push though this. Guardians were built for this." "You're right. I shouldn't be too worried." The doctor comes in. "Torrent, Jelmas, Alex is waiting for you two in room 301CG." We both get up, and the doctor has us follow her to the room. Once we get there, we see her in the bed, awake. She has a large IV tube leading into her arm, and two bags of synthetic blood in her chest. "Hey Alex. How ya doing?" I ask, walking toward her. "Not bad. Just pretty sore in the stomach. Doc told me it was a hollow point round." "Holy shit. That must hurt like hell." "Trust me. It did hurt. Just not enough before I blacked out to traumatize me." "Well, I guess that's pretty good. You should meet someone. Meet Jelmas." Jelmas walks forward. "She's the one who brought you back after the rogue downed you." "Hi Jelmas." Alex says. "Hello, Alex." Jelmas responds. They conversed for a little while, and they pretty much became best friends within a matter of minutes.

2 days later

I'm in the Vanguard Hall, talking to Cayde about Jelmas and Alex. "That's pretty cool. Hey, listen. I think we have a way to track down Oryx. We just need your approval." "...My approval?" "Yes. We can't find him physically. Upon further investigation, we figured out that someone or something that's been blighted by Oryx CAN track him down." "What are you saying?" "You're our only hope of finding him. We just need to make sure you're okay with this. If needed, a psychiatrist specifically for Exos will be thrown in for free." "Alright. I'll do it. How do we get to the Dreadnaught?" "It''s on Saturn's rings, where a big hole is blown in them. The Dreadnaught fired a superweapon, killing the entire Awoken society." "Wow. That's harsh. How big is this hole?" "'bout two to three thousand miles wide." "That's pretty damn big." "It sure is. That's why we need him taken out." "Ok. When do we start?" "In 5 days. You need preparation."

4 days until Regicide attempt

Alex is up, and perfectly ready to go. Cayde told me that we need 3 more people in our fireteam to have a good chance at killing Oryx. Cayde put up a volunteer list for the best Guardians in the Tower, and the list filled up in about 10 minutes. We meet up with our fireteam. The 6-man fireteam consisted of: Me, a Nightstalker Hunter; Alex, an unidentified Hunter; Jelmas, a Defender Titan; Genghi, a Stormcaller Warlock; Cyclone-2, a Sunbreaker Titan; and... James? Oh fuck no. James, a Gunslinger Hunter. We shake hands with the fireteam, and we're all controversial about James joining us. Alex whispers to me, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cyclone interrupts. "I hear he has a lot of research on the Taken. He's been in the books ever since you broke his hand." I respond by saying, "Well, that is useful. I kinda feel bad for him. He just gave me a hard time." At this point, James comes up to us. "Hey Torrent. Look. I'm sorry about the hard time in the hangar. I was being immature." "Thanks. Sorry 'bout your hand. Hopefully we can put this behind us?" "Sure." "Nice. That makes this easier." We start our private training, but I have the hardest job. I have to fully listen to Oryx during the attempt. He's been trying to lead me to him for the last week, so I have to let go of my sanity. I'll never be the same person, well, Exo, again.

3 days until Regicide attempt

We start our weapon training. It's all different, because the Taken are deformed. They have different weak points. I'm trying to fire my Hereafter at a practice target, when Ghengi comes up to me, saying, "You shouldn't be worried about the fighting. You're the one that needs to lead us in." "No, I need to keep myself prepared just in case." "The Taken can't distinguish you from us. You have a large handicap above them. Take advantage of it." "...I guess you're right. Oryx is practically giving away his location." "No, he needs to practice his gunplay. Stay prepared." Cyclone interjects. "How about this," I say. "I use the methods I think are best. Yeah? I'm the Nightstalker here, I need the personal training." "Fine. Have it your way." Says Cyclone. They both leave to go train by themselves.

3 days until Regicide attempt

I go to The Speaker to talk to him about the blight. "How should I prepare for this raid? Should I try listening to Oryx to lead my team in the right direction, or should I focus on my gunfighting?" "You should focus on the directions of Oryx. Guidance is always better than violence. You should just sit in the most comfortable space you can." "Okay. Where do you suggest I do that?" "In the cosmodrome, on Earth. Taken energy needs to be present." "Alright. Well, thanks for the advice." "Any time, Guardian. Just keep us safe. Say, have you ever heard of The Great War?" "No, and I need to go."

2 days until Regicide attempt

I've been laying in the cosmodrome for hours now. I've never felt so relaxed. I occasionally heard Oryx say to me, "So you've finally given up. Good choice. You are my instrument of war now. You will destroy the light from within." I only laugh at these whispers. It's evident that my sanity had drained to the very minimum, and that I was used to him being in my head. The Fallen didn't notice me for all 12 hours I had been laying there. I almost powered down in the time being. I knew I had to be awake for this process. At the twelfth hour, I noticed my hand to start becoming discolored. I only watched, not in shock, not in terror, but in reassurance. I knew this was working. In an instant, I was warped to the Dreadnuaght.

Oryx stood before me. Without thinking, I keeled before him. His hand outstretched with a Taken energy emitting from it. He then says with a loud voice, "You have bowed to me. You have shown me loyalty. You have shown me the true absence of light. You have become Taken." No part of me was a Guardian anymore. I was gone.

Regicide attempt is tomorrow

I had no choice but to stay in the cosmodrome for the entire day. If I ever went back to the tower like this, I would be shot on sight, and only The Traveler knows what will happen to me. I now saw The Traveler as an enemy. A catalyst for all the chaos that had happened during the collapse. I knew I was isolated from the entire world, seen as an enemy. I managed to send out a transmission to Cayde, but he answered rather furiously. "You have reached the Hunter Vanguard. We see your transmission type as Taken, and you're being forced to stand now as of now!" "Cayde..." I say. My voice is now beyond recognition, but Cayde still knew my voice! "Torrent! Where the hell have you been?! Is everything alright?" I look at myself, and say, "It is now." "What do you mean?" "Cayde, never let me return to the Tower. Don't let the world see me like this." "Torrent, what the fuck happened in the cosmodrome?" There was a long silence. At last, I said, "Him. Oryx. He's claimed me, and I am his weapon now." Cayde flips his shit after hearing I was Taken. Zavala gets on the radio. "Hunter! What the hell were you thinking?" "I plan to bring my fireteam in as mock prisoners to the Dreadnaught, and ambush Oryx when we get there." "You shoulnd't have surrendered yourself to The Taken King! He owns your name!" "I recognize that. Don't worry about me. I'm a Guardian. If I'm going to die, it will be with great honor and sacrifice." Zavala didn't answer for a while. Then, he responds, "Torrent, this had better goddamn work or I swear on The Traveler..." "What can you do? I'm Taken. There's no worse fate than this." Zavala fell silent, then Cayde took the radio. "Torrent, your sacrifice is greatly honored. I'm proud to call you a true Guardian. You've shown valor, honor, sacrifice, and heroism. You've given yourself to the evil that lurks to destroy us to destroy it from within. You've outcast yourself to save the world, and all of your friends. I can't explain how honorable that is." "Thank you, Cayde. It's been an honor serving you."

 **We're gonna cut right there! God, I love cliffhangers! Leave a review about how you think the next chapter should pan out!**


	9. Chapter 9: A Daring Attempt

**Welcome back! Sorry for DAT CLIFFHANGER. In the last chapter, Torrent faces an terrible fate, and dedicates himself to killing Oryx, The Taken King. The fireteam has yet to know about what happened; what happened to the Legend.**

Chapter 9: A Daring Attempt

Regicide day

This is it. All the work we've put into this. All the books we've read. All the monstrosities we've destroyed. It all leads to this. Oryx. He brings darkness. He brings the blight. He brings death. Guardians. We bring light. We bring purification. We bring life. Ever since I've seen Oryx in my own eyes, I've known why he's here. What brought him here. What caused his rage. We've slain his son, Crota. The Hive Prince. Oryx seeks revenge, and we'll show him what it takes to bring us down, and we're an invincible wall of light. We can't be broken. They... can't be broken... I'm broken.

I'm in the cosmodrome, waiting for Cyclone's ship to touch down. Cayde sent them here with the bad news, and warned to keep an eye on me. I knew that this was the beginning of the end. The six of us. Plunging directly into the Dreadnaught. To destroy the darkness where it is strongest. It will be a hell of a fight, but we're ready. We've never been more ready.

Cyclone's ship touches down, and Genghi, James, Alex, and Jelmas teleport down. They immediately aim their weapons at me, and for good cause. I raise my hands into the air slowly, and they approach me. Alex stows her gun, and says, "Torrent, why? Why did you let him do this? There were so many more options!" After a short silence, I say with my distorted voice, "It's the only way. Oryx will recognize me as Taken, and let his guard down." "Why did it have to be YOU?!" "I wouldn't let anyone else experience the pain I was in. It was horrific." A single tear runs down Alex's cheek, although the others don't budge. "You all know about the plan, right?" I ask. "Yes." Said James. "We do. We're mock prisoners, and you're taking us directly to Oryx so he can deal with us personally. Then, we ambush him." "Correct. Now, are we ready for this? Cayde won't be able to reach out to us, because we're out so far." The whole fireteam nods. "Alright. Let's do this. And Alex, remember what Cayde told you to do." "Right. That."

On the flight to Saturn

I'm buckled down to the floor of the ship, and James and Genghi keep their weapons trained on me. Cyclone announces, "We're almost there. Ready up." I look over to Alex. She's holding the butterfly knife I gave her. She's only staring at it. Another tear runs down her cheek. I try speaking up. "Alex, I-" "No. Don't. Don't feel bad. This is the right thing to do." I'm silent. Cyclone says, "We're here. Everyone off, and let Torrent lead the way. Don't let him fuck up." They unbuckle me, and I hop out. The other five stow their weapons, and put their hands over their heads, and we start walking.

It was like I'd been here before. I knew every hallway, every corridor, every step, by memory. For the entire walk there, nobody said a word. The Taken that were on the Dreadnaught just watched, as I brought the 'gifts' for Oryx. For another four hours, we walked, and walked and walked. Eventually, it was so dark, I couldn't see where I was stepping, but I still knew the place. It was very odd. But still, we walked.

Eventually, I heard Oryx, not as a whisper in my head, but a loud, booming roar from what sounded like the next room. Taken energy surrounds us, and we look around to see what could only be where Oryx is. I look up, And see him. Oryx gives me a single nod, and I then move without a thought. I kick the backs of everyone's knees out from under them, putting them on their knees. They complied without a fight. Oryx looks down upon them, then looks to me. "Well done. You've brought me the warriors of Light. The catalysts of war. The bringers of death. You've done well, and you'll be rewarded." I look over to the team, and give them a single nod. James gives me a slight nod back, then looks back down. As I stand behind Oryx, he raises his sword to strike them down. In the split second they had to live, they scattered. I couldn't find any of them. "Warriors of Light! Show yourselves! You are at the mercy of the true darkness!" The attack has been initiated... Time to bring him down.

Everybody starts to take pot-shots at him, and Oryx is severely confused. He doesn't know where to start. He lets out a loud roar. I knew what I had to do now. I don't know how, but I still managed to gain control of my Light. There was a war happening, and I was the battleground. The Light stood by the Darkness like an acquaintance. I was half Guardian, half Taken. I felt both sides working together. Like an old friend, the void light comes back to me. The bow is crafted in my hand. Everything that came to me was a reflex. I didn't know what was happening. I pulled the string back, and a very large purple bolt formed in it. No one looked over, so I drew the bow back, and fired at Oryx. He fell to his knees, clearly vulnerable for us to kill him.

We all walk toward him, guns in hand. He's wounded so badly, he can't hurt us anymore. "You have brought me down. The Light shall fill this galaxy with purity and hope. The Earth is my defeat. Your hero has deceived me. Now, I will destroy him." "Not on my watch." I speak up with a seemingly normal tone of voice. He raises his hand into the air, and clenches into a fist. Now was the time. Alex aimed her Hawkmoon to my critical point in my chest, and fired. I fall back, I see my critical fluids seeping out, and everything fades, fades, fades. I see Oryx fall, and then total darkness.

Unknown Location

"...uardian? Guardian? Eyes up Guardian." Ghost's voice rang in my head. Where was I? Who was I? What am I?

 **Don't worry, the next chapter is coming tonight! Like, now! Stay tuned!**


	10. Chapter 10: A True Hero

**This is it! The finale! Thanks for checking this out, and leave some suggestions for future stories I should do for Destiny! Again, thanks! See you around!**

Chapter 10: A True Hero

Ghost's voice bounced around my head. As I regained consciousness, I see myself back in the R.F.P.A. I see the scientists drilling new parts into me. Parts? Was I still an Exo? I fall back asleep. The next moment, I open my eyes to see my fireteam in front of me. I lift my head up. "...Guys? Wha-?" My voice sounded... higher. Not important. Alex speaks up. "We did it, Torrent. We fucking did it." "Am-am I dead? Am I dreaming?" "Well," Cayde scares the fuck out of me. "Unfortunately not. You sure gave it a hell of a go, though. Hey, we gave you a little something." He hands me a mirror, and I take it to look at myself. I look the exact same, but something strange was on the side of my head. "Is that..?" "That sure is." The Taken symbol. Shattered. On the other side of my head, I saw a Vanguard icon. "You know what this means, right?" "What?" Cayde stands me up, puts his hand out to shake mine, and says, "Torrent-2, Welcome to the Vanguard." I give him a firm handshake, and everyone cheers. Ikora and Zavala are there, too. "Come on. Let's take a stroll around the Tower." As soon as I saw the light of day, I heard roars of cheering. The entire Tower had me been waiting for me. "There's only one way a Guardian can be accepted into the Vanguard. That's by putting his life and sanity in jeopardy to follow through with a perfect plan that could only be described as genius. The Taken King is dead. You killed him. You've brought light, life, and prosperity to the world for at least another thousand years." As we walk to the Vanguard Hall, Cayde hands me something. "Here. It's yours." It's a key to a ship. "That's no ordinary ship, you know. That's the key to a Manus Celer Dei. The rarest, quickest, fastest, best ship ever created and has had eyes laid on." I was brimming with excitement. "In here, Torrent." I follow, and we arrive at the table of the Vanguard. Ikora and Zavala are there, waiting for me. As they shake my hand, they congratulate me. This was the most bizarre thing ever. I'd never been treated with this much respect. "I know it seems like we're giving you a ton of stuff, but you've given to us more than we could give back. This is the last thing. Here's your new cloak." It shimmered with Light. It had the Vanguard icon on it, and it was colored orange and gray. I put it on, and Cayde looked at me with it on. "Fits like a glove. Perfect." I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this really happening? Or was I just dreaming? Then, I hear, "Guardian, Guardian?" I look back to see Ghost there, with a new orange shell. "Hey Ghost!" "Hello, Torrent!" He scared me. I thought I was asleep and dreaming this all! "Torrent," "Yes, Cayde?" "I just need to let you know. You're relieved of your duties as a Guardian. You will fight no more. Your duties as the new Hunter Vanguard are far more important than fighting now." "I understand. But, I'll be guiding new Hunters on their way to creating their own legend?" "That is correct." "That's the only thing I need." "Great! What are we waiting for?" "Actually, do I get to still be with Alex? We're sort of the 'lovebirds' of the Tower." "That's not a problem. As long as it doesn't affect your work." "Great." I turn around, and Alex kisses me for about 15 seconds before I can think. We both hug each other. "I love you." She says softly. "I love you too. Trust me I won't be out there hurting myself anymore." "Good. I hate to see you hurting. Oh, I brought you something." She holds out my Last Word Hand Cannon, with a Vanguard icon painted on the side. "Look a little closer." I look closer, and I see her signature on the barrel. "Aw, I love it!" I kiss her, but Cayde interrupts. "Look. I hate to crash the party, but we've got work, Torrent. Lots of work." "Yes sir." "Good luck as Vanguard, Torrent!" "Thanks!" This is incredible. Everything fell into place.

Epilogue

A year later

It turns out that Alex was a Bladedancer, and I helped Cayde conduct the trials. She was getting stronger. Faster. Smarter. After another 2 years, we fell in love, and we married. I would hate to see her hurt like I was. She kept my Hawkmoon, and I knew that we'd never leave each other. She'd go on to destroy monstrosities of her own someday, and I guided new Hunters around the life of a Guardian. Over the next 20 years, we'd gained 5 new Nightstalkers, and they all walked in my footsteps. I held a sense of pride never before felt. Late at night in the Vanguard Hall, when Zavala and Ikora went to bed, and Cayde went out for an evening stroll, they left me in charge of watching the place. "Ghost," "Yes Torrent?" "Do you remember that day back in the cosmodrome when you found me?" We both sigh with content, and dreamily think about that fateful day. I could clearly hear the six words reverberate in my head louder than ever before. 'Guardian? Guardian? Eyes up here Guardian.'

 **That's it! THE END! Thanks SO much for reading! I hope you all loved it, and You guys should really suggest more ideas for future stories related to Destiny, maybe even combine this one into it! HotAyer signing off!**


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